"Most dishonest "company" ive ever experienced"

Characters for hire (a "Company" thats NOT accredited on Better Business Bureau) forces people to write reviews in order to get paid. They threaten, harass, bully and gaslight people into removing their reviews. they are with holding payment from people if you leave a negative review. Thats illegal, and I hear there is a CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT in review about this.

Their positive reviews have quadrupled on google and multiplied by 7 on Trustpilot within the year of covid - when youre not supposed to have events.

They are super helpful before the event. I worked extremely hard to make sure things ran smoothly, jumped through hoops, took care of wigs, props, costumes, contacts, makeup, transportation, hiring additional makeup artists, got a rental car and drove 5 hours to virginia (Paid everything out of pocket, it was all approved by them and they said they'd reimuburse). Once the event is done, they ghost you and stop responding to your messages. At one point i had to wait 7 months, 87 excuses, and bounced checks later to get paid (this is a common habit they do. warnings about this all over the internet).
Weeks after the event I'm still unpaid, given the run around, delayed payment excuse after excuse, I left an honest review about how i didnt get paid. immediately i get a response saying that i have 24 hours to remove my review or i will be sued for defamation.
Their response on the phone, they say that in order to get paid i have to REMOVE MY REVIEW and sign an NDA contract saying i cant ever speak ill of the company. Knowing how they tend to delay payment for months and in some cases not pay people at all, i told them "pay me and ill remove my review". they refused, while the manager (kevin mack) yelled at me, spoke over me and wouldn't let me talk, and hung up on me saying Im not allowed to talk to him until i have an attorney. They shut the door to my face, as they've done to several others.

Their response publicly online they say "You have to fill out IRS forms or its illegal for us to pay you" but thats not true. I sent over a w9. They've paid me in the past, but now that i wrote a review suddenly they need this "Legal Paperwork" in order to pay me? They are with holding my payment until i remove my review, pretty sure thats illegal.

They've done this to several others, And they make it close to impossible to sue them because they don't have a real address. The NY addresses listed are FRAUDULANT, so there is no way to send over lawsuit paperwork. Upon calling them and asking for their address, the manager told me they dont have one. (Thats illegal. The law states that every business that works in the state needs a physical address.) when i asked Kevin where do i send the lawsuit paperwork, he gave me his email. Minutes later i sent everything out and i get a response from Mailor Demon saying i was blocked.
They claim I am calling and harassing them, but how is trying to get updates (on payment) considered harassment? they love to victimize themselves (they've done this several times), when they are actually the ones that are breaking contracts, being extremely rude, being banned from websites due to their behavior, and even making fake yelp reviews against those who wrote honest negative reviews.
In addition, They've put my life (and others) in danger so they can make money (and they did make a lot of money- about 10k per event, yet i was unpaid) . Due to their negligence, I suffered and lost work, and they blamed it on me when they didn't fulfill their end of the agreement.
Avoid this dishonest company at all costs, they spew lies after lies.
Unless you like working for free, go for it. their events are fun. Not getting paid is not fun.

"Characters for Hire did an excellent job!"

We were thrilled to find Characters for Hire for our client's event. Our client wanted "King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn". The actors are very talented and stayed in character the whole time. They entertained the guests and posed for photos, and King Henry even helped us with getting the guests seated quickly! It was PERFECT and our client was very, very pleased. We look forward to working with Characters for Hire again!
Sorelle Group

"I would like to express my appreciation"

I would like to express my appreciation for the help in planning a skit for my daughter's wedding. I especially would like to thank NIck Sarelli at Characters for hire for his professionalism, expertise and help. Nick we all wish there were more people like you who understand the needs of customers like me who want to make an events special. Thank you Nick. I will surely come back to Characters for Hire in the future.

"I was thrilled with the professionalism…"

I was thrilled with the professionalism and level of my fellow actors on the gig I worked on. As for management, texts were answered promptly, something that is certainly not always the case with casting companies. I would be happy to work with them again.

"Great time"

Great time , much fun, costumes are cool

"My experience working with Characters…"

My experience working with Characters for Hire was fantastic. They communicated with me, they booked my hotel and flight quickly and everything ran so smooth. I would work with CFH in a heartbeat if the opportunity ever presented itself, I really enjoyed everything. I would recommend them to anyone who was looking to work with them.

"Amazing Service!!"

CFH was very professional and informative throughout the event. They were ALWAYS available for questions and ready with solutions for anything. Their business model and core values are far reaching by comparison to many companies I have worked with. I highly recommend!!

"Halftime Show Saints vs Warriors"

I along with my colleague was hired for a football halftime show. We played medieval knights dueling each other. I can say very highly the team at Characters for Hire were very professional and accommodating. They tended to any of our needs and answered any questions we had prior to the performance. I felt very welcomed by everyone there and had an amazing time during the performance itself. I would highly recommend their services in the future and would work with them again.

"DUELING KINGS KNIGHTS HOME COMING FOOTBALL HALF TIME SHOW"

Hiram Carrabello & myself Ryan " Rhino " Michaels had the pleasure of choreographing and performing a Dueling Kings Knights fight sequence at Portola High School for THE SAINTS V. THE WARRIORS FRIDAY NIGHT UNDER THE LIGHTS football game half time show..
The clients were EFFUSSIVE And DELIGHTED at our half time show. And took pics with us afterwards.
It was the LABOR DAY HOLIDAY GET OUT OF TOWN WEEKEND TRAFFIC DRIVE ( 3:10 drive time) UGHH ! But we planned for it and goit there at 5pm for rehersal on field and with staff for a 7pm event kick off. All went perfectly...
TY CHARACTERS FOR HIRE for the opportunity and as for me it took me back decades to when I played on a NJ UNDEFEATED STATE CHAMPIONSHIP FOOT BALL TEAM.GREAT MEMORIES from both events
. Rhino Michaels

"Last year"

Last year, I had a bit of an issue with Characters For Hire, but after I explained my side and they explained theirs, we were able to sort things out and put things behind us. To give me a closer look at how the company works and operates, they gave me an opportunity (let's call it a trial run) at working with them. I got to meet some of the crew. They all seemed really nice! They hired me as a Covid Compliance Officer, as that's what I've been certified for and working as during this pandemic. I was stationed by the entrance of the location to check everyone who came to the event. I worked longer than expected for a small price, but again, it was a "trial run"... That's what I thought until I mentioned my going rate, to which they claimed they had other Covid Compliance Officers under their employ at a cheaper rate, then didn't hire me for their event.

Even after telling me they had the event covered at a cheaper rate by someone else (most likely waiting for me to lower my rate again), it turns out that they ended up not having a single Covid Compliance Officer at that event. I knew they didn't have anyone else to do the job, as me working with them as a CCO was an idea that was recently pitched to them by an acquaintance of mine. So I HIGHLY doubt that had a bunch of other CCOs at the ready, if any.

Finally, their steps to getting paid are quite unorthodox. In order to get paid, one has to leave a (good) review for them. In my previous edit of the review, I felt pressured to withhold information from my time working with them (like the fact that many of their actors weren't actually trained on how to do their job, the fact that they don't actually reimburse people, and many other things that I learned from people there that only re-enforced everything I originally put in my initial review that this company stated to be lies were actually true across the board).

I have seen other artists and actors struggling to get paid, especially if their review wasn't a good review. I know people personally who still haven't gotten paid in months for leaving a bad review. "Unless you change your review, we will be forced to withhold your payment for ________ (insert absurd length of time).

In case you don't know, forcing people, especially workers to leave reviews... ESPECIALLY in order to get paid... IS ILLEGAL! And I have proof that they did that to me and to others.

P.s. What company has all of its employees texting from the exact same number, no one is reachable outside of text, and no one can seem to respond back once the Halloween season is over, even when EVERYONE is reaching out about getting their due payments? Characters For Hire is who.

P.p.s. Any 1 star review given is almost immediately attacked by the owners of the company with a copy and paste statement saying: "Fake Review ". But I'll tell you that I am not a fake reviewer. This isn't a fake account, as evident by the company's changed response (after I "corrected" my review to get paid) of working with me.

Watch this company's reply be a copy and paste of the same thing they reply for anyone that leaves a bad review, as they always do... trying to scare off reviewers leaving honest, poor-rated reviews and to discredit said reviews.